A Late Bloomer
by cassianaswindell123
Summary: Papyrus stumbles upon Flowey dusting a monster and takes upon the arduous task of reforming the demonic plant.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Shout-out to specialminds for helping me get through writer's block, and rewrite this chapter more smoothly, so please check out their fanfic Fonttale, and if you're an artist, Fonttale needs more fanart! Thank you! (Also, Pappy is such a numbskull!)

Chapter one: Ad Pulverum

Papyrus strode quickly across the slick stone, eager to leave Waterfall and get home to make spaghetti for Sans, when a piercing shriek caused him to falter for a moment. It resounded throughout the area and turning the corner in frightened curiosity, Papyrus saw what looked like a tiny flower...dusting a lone Woshua.

The skeleton gasped in shocked horror, drawing the murderous plant's attention. It twisted itself around in order to get a good look at its audience, its triumphant smirk fading into a hateful sneer upon seeing him. Gathering his courage, Papyrus composed himself and spoke, "FLOWER! WHY IS THE WOSHUA DUST?"

The Flower didn't respond.

"WAS IT HURT? Y-YOU MUST HAVE BEEN TRYING TO SAVE IT YES? YES, THAT'S IT! THAT MUST BE IT!"

"..."

"SURELY YOU... WERE NOT THE ONE TO PUT IT IN THAT STATE… RIGHT?"

The Flower still didn't respond, making the trainee even more nervous than he was previously. Not that the Great Papyrus was giving up mind you...

"FLOWER, I AM… CONFUSED. WHAT... WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" he asked, dread filling his non-existent stomach.

The flower rolled its eyes, annoyed with the skeleton's naivety it bit out, "I killed it you moron. Down here it's kill or be killed, got it? And my name is fucking Flowey, NOT Flower!"

This flower, Flowey...is a murderer...?  
Why?  
What did the Woshua do?

Papyrus looked down at the dust sadly.

Does that creature even care? Perhaps... perhaps Flowey does not understand what he has done.  
I should inform him, yes I MUST inform him. He needs to learn the difference between right and wrong and who better than the Great Papyrus to teach him? Nyeh heh heh!

"FLOWEY! IT SEEMS YOU DO NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND THE SEVERITY OF YOUR ACTIONS! THOUGH I AM SURE YOU WERE ONLY PLAYING, YOU MUST BE GENTLE; FOR YOU SEE, WHEN A MONSTER IS DUST, THEY GO ON VACATION FOREVER AND THEY DON'T RETURN ANY OF YOUR PHONE CALLS OR LETTERS!"

Flowey looked at Papyrus suspiciously. Was this skeleton really that stupid, or did he think he was five? Was he messing with him?!

"Wowie, there really IS someone stupider than Smiley Trashbag! Congratulations on being the imbecile of the century!" said Flowey doing a little dance.

Papyrus shook his head in disappointment. "NO NO NO, THAT'S ALL WRONG! *SIGH* SINCE YOU DO NOT SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF BEING FRIENDLY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL BE YOUR FIRST FRIEND!"

Flowey looked at him, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.

He's GOT to be kidding me. That passive-aggressive piece of-

"I'M NOT STUPID TRASHBAG!" yelled Flowey angrily. "AND I FREAKING HAVE FRIENDS!"

"NO, YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY LONELY, BUT FEAR NOT! I, PAPYRUS, MASTER OF ALL THINGS FRIENDSHIP, SHALL TEACH YOU HOW TO REFRAIN FROM HARMING OTHERS! NOW COME, I MUST INTRODUCE YOU TO THE WONDERS OF FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!"

"I DON'T WANT YOUR SPAGHETTI! I WANT YOU TO APOLOGIZE TRASHBAG!"

Papyrus began to walk out of Waterfall.

"HEY! DON'T YOU FREAKING IGNORE ME, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!"

The skeleton barely heard him as he was deep in thought. What would Sans do in this situation?

He would go on about Flowey's KILLER personality and how he DUSTED the competition. He'd say something about how he left his friend in the dust or about how I'm WEEDING too much into the situation...

"GET BACK HERE!"

He'd say I should just LEAF before I wind up in too deep, or that I should try and get to the ROOT of the problem since all the issues are STEMMING from Flowey...

Papyrus winced and shook his head frantically. "OH NO, HE'S RUBBING OFF ON ME! GRRAAH! GOD DAMN IT SANS!"

"I HOPE YOU SAVE ROOM FOR SOME DELICIOUS FRIENDLINESS PELLETS BONEHEAD, CAUSE' LAST I CHECKED, FRIENDS SHARE!"

Wowie!  
Flowey's learning already!

Papyrus smiled happily and skipped the rest of the way to Snowdin, stopping ever so often for his new friend Flowey to catch up.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Once again, shout-out to specialminds! Thank you for taking the time to help me with my story!

Chapter Two: Cooking with a Killer Flower!

Papyrus beamed at the petulant plant beside him, internally snickering at the sight of the previously terrifying flower confined to a flower pot. It took quite the struggle to "convince" Flowey into it, but it was a necessary precaution.

Flashback

"Hey, bonebag! Slow down! When I get my vines on you-"

Papyrus frowned to himself at the weed's idle threats, but then gave Flowey a cheerful smile.

"DO NOT WORRY FRIEND FLOWEY, FOR WE HAVE ARRIVED! BEHOLD MY HUMBLE ABODE!"

The flower swore under its breath, but caught up to the infuriating skeleton.

"So, what now, moron?"

"WELL, SINCE YOU CANNOT LEAVE DIRT, WE MAY NEED TO MAKE A… SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT TO YOUR LOCATION!"

"There is NO WAY you are getting your hands on me you-"

"OOPSIE-DAISY!"

"FUCK YOU PAPYRUS!"

Flashback End

Smirking at the memory, Papyrus began pulling out all the ingredients needed for spaghetti. Dropping the materials on the table, Papyrus finally acknowledged the hissing flower.

"NOW FLOWEY, IS THAT ANY WAY TO TREAT YOUR BEST FRIEND? WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS! SIGH! PLANTS THESE DAYS!"

The hostile weed let out a shriek of rage, but refrained from any physical violence… for now. The skeleton knew it was only a matter of time before he pushed Flowey past his limit. Shoving the thought from his mind, Papyrus began pouring the pasta into a large pot, then turned the stove only slightly on. With a pleased smile, Papyrus strode to the potted plant and carried it within easy reach of the stove. The tall monster then began to inform Flowey on the actions necessary to create the dish.

"JUST IMAGINE THE TOMATOES AS YOUR ENEMIES!"

"So imagine its dust? Wait, can you even turn tomatoes into dust? Now I really wanna try it! Can I-"

"SIGH! NEVERMIND FLOWEY, SIMPLY IMAGINE IT IS MY FACE!"

"Wowie! I didn't know tomatoes could explode!"

"NEITHER DID I FLOWEY, NEITHER DID I."

Shaking his head in exasperation at the weed's blatant vehemence, Papyrus then began the next set of instructions.

"Sooooo~ the hotter I make the stove, the more excited I am to be cooking?"

"EXACTLY! I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BELIEVE IN… what… ACTUALLY, I HAVE NOW LOST ALL FAITH IN YOUR NONEXISTANT COMPETANCE. CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE FAILED AT SQUISHING FRUIT AND TURNING A KNOB. A KNOB! YOU HAD ONE JOB FLOWEY! ONE. JOB."

The flower in question snickered at the skeleton's rant upon noticing that he had turned off the stove, then froze, indignant shock displaying across Flowey's face.

"Did you call the tomato what I think you did?"

"WHAT EVER DO YOU MEAN, FLO-"

"Oh my god! You did! TOMATOES ARE NOT FRUIT YOU MORON! I LIKE FRUITS! I HATE VEGTABLES! I HATE TOMATOES! TOMATOES ARE VEGGIES! PAPYRUS, WHY ARE YOU SO-"

"FLOWEY… YOU ARE A CANNIBAL."

"What. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET OUT OF MY MONOLOGUE?"

"FLOWERS BECOME FRUITS. YOU COULD BE EATING YOUR OWN MOTHER!"

"As if, bone-bag! My mom's a goat, obviously!"

"…HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK? WHAT DID YOUR FATHER USE TO SPREAD HIS SEED? DID HE STICK HIS LEAVES IN HER-"

"I'M NOT LISTENING, I'M NOT LISTENING, I'M NOT LISTMMmph!"

The flower glared daggers at Papyrus, who had used the opportunity of the screaming plant to force Flowey to sample the finished spaghetti. Though according to the weed's expression, it could use some improvements. Oh well, he did have to add a pound of glitter to counter-act Flowey's assholery. The heaving plant spat out the nasty mouthful, and was about to gripe about the flavor when he saw Papyrus force a bite.

"IT'S… HMM, HOW SHOULD I PUT THIS? AH, YES! IT'S AS LOVELY AS YOUR PERSONALITY! BUT WAIT! DID YOU NOT EAT YOUR OWN MEAL? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"

The skeleton's eye flickered orange, and Flowey cringed, expecting an eminent death. The flower opened its eyes after a few moments of inaction, and bristled at the sight. That… that damn monster put a dunce cap on him, and put him in a corner labeled as TIME-OUT! Oooh, Papyrus is going to get it now! However, as the homicidal creature began to extend its vines, he heard telltale thumps on the stairs. Mind racing, Flowey realized that if Pappy was down here, then that meant…"

Flowey face-palmed (face-leafed?)as the smiley trashbag joined the fun.


	3. Chapter 3-Sans a Problem

A/N: Shout-out to Specialminds, and more importantly, THANK YOU iggs-dreemurr! I was going to abandon this story, seeing as NO ONE left any favorites or follows, so I assumed the story was a flop, but since I now have one person, (you) now following the story, I'm obligated to keep it going. Thank you, and please review!

Chapter 3—Sans a Problem

"Hey Smiley, some help over here!" crowed Flowey, only to wince at the glare leveled at him by the puny skeleton, his sockets narrowed in dislike as his fingers prepared to snap, the monster's eye glowing bright blue. Flowey's expression quickly morphed into an "Oh Shit" face, preparing to have a _bad time_ , when Papyrus stepped forward, arms crossed in annoyance.

"SANS! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING? I EXPECTED BETTER OF YOU, WE HAVE A GUEST OVER FOR DREEMURR'S SAKE! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I CAN'T TAKE YOU ANYWHERE!"

Sans and Flowey both stared with wide eyes at the eccentric bonebag's rant, jaws dropping in disbelief. Sans stuttered for a moment, searching for an excuse, but found his voice.

"But Paps, he's a… bad influence? Yeah! You shouldn't be around him. How did he even get in here anyway? Heh, did you _uproot_ him from his home?"

"…SANS, GO BACK UPSTAIRS. OR GRILLBY'S. OR ANYWHERE FAR, FAR AWAY FROM ME. BEGONE, FOUL BEAST! BE REPELLED BY THIS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE SPAGHETTI, SO BAD EVEN A MONSTER LIKE YOU WILL FLEE TO ESCAPE IT!"

Flowey snickered, feeling slightly proud at how terrible he managed to make the spaghetti.

"I really should be offended at you knocking my cooking, Bonebag, but it's as garbage at the royal scientist!"

The skeleton brothers shared a confused look at that passive aggressive statement, but shrugged it off.

"NYEH? HMM, FINE THEN, IF COOKING IS NOT FOR YOU, THEN LET US TRY OUT BONDING OVER GAMES?"

Sans shrugged.

"I'm fine with that bro."

Flowey, on the other hand, was not of the same opinion.

"No, I would rather-"

"WELL, I SUPPOSE WE COULD GO IN THE GARDEN AND WEED! THERE ARE SOME GOLDEN FLOWERS THAT NEED TO BE PLUCKED AND DISPOSED OF."

Needless to say, the decision to play a game was unanimous. The decision as to which game to play, not so much.

"Dungeons and dragons paps, we gotta!"

"NO! Candy Land! We have to play Candy Land!"

"VERY WELL THEN, I SHALL GO FETCH APPLES TO APPLES!"

As the exuberant skeleton beamed, moonwalking off to find the box lost in the depths of Sans room, Flowey and Sans pouted at the overbearing skeleton overruling their choices.

(The dialogue for the game will be all caps for Papyrus, lowercase for Flowey, and italics for Sans, for ease of reading.)

NYEH? "HORRIFYING"? I AM AFRAID "ANIME" FAR SURPASSES "MY LOVE LIFE" IN THIS CASE! THAT SUCH CHILDISH SHOWS ARE ENCOURAGED IS RIDICULOUS, WHEN COMPARED SO THE TRULY SUPERIOR METTATON MOVIES!

Hah, in your face Smiley! My turn! And the word is… drumroll please… "beautiful". Hurry up Trashbag, Papyrus threw down his card ages ago! Ok, now… wow this is an easy one. "Art", or "Mass Genocide". Heh, who am I kidding, genocide is the beautifulest.

 _Are you kidding me weed? Seriously? How on earth did Paps actually win that round? I call bullsh… shoes. Bullshoes, right. Also, beautifulest is not a word, for frick's sake! It's most beautiful, cotton for brains. Okay, yes Pap, I'm look at the cards, just STOP POKING ME GODDAMNIT! Hm, "cool"? Well… Okay, yeah it's a no brainer. "Newton's cradle" tops "Racecars" any day._

FINE THEN, I SUPPOSE IT IS MY TURN, SO- WHAT. ON. EARTH. WELL LET'S SEE, THE CARD IS "LAZY", AND MY OPTIONS ARE "SLOTHS", AND… "SANS". SANS, IT IS AN INSULT TO COMPARE YOU TO SLOTHS! AN INSULT TO THE SLOTHS, THAT IS. THE BARRIER MOVES MORE THAN HE DOES! WAIT… NOOOOO! THIS MEANS THE ALL TIME CHAMPION OF APPLES TO APPLES GOES TO… FLOWEY? WITH ME IN SECOND, AND SANS IN LAST, BECAUSE NO. JUST NO SANS. TOO. MANY. PUNS!


End file.
